TV Best Bets for Sunday

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE

"True Blood" season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO.

Last season ended with Bill - the vampire who was in his 170s and expected to live forever - dying. He gulped Lillith's blood (always a mistake) and came back as the mega-"Billith." Sookie (who loves him anyway) fled with Eric (who's sister views humans as merely a food group).

Now the new season has an action-adventure opening, intercut with the Louisiana governor's fierce anti-vampire drive. Like any great metaphor, "Blood" works on multiple levels. Originally suggesting gay-rights issues, it resonates anew in an anti-immigration era.

TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE

Miss USA, 9 to 11 p.m., NBC.

This is clearly pay-cable's night, filled with big openings and closings. The broadcast networks counter with basketball (ABC) and beauty contestants.

Giuliana Rancic has her third time as host; Nick Jonas - a solid Broadway talent, actually - has his first. His group (Jonas Brothers) has ended a three-year hiatus and will perform during the show.

TONIGHT'S ALTERNATIVE

"Nurse Jackie" season-finale, 9 p.m., Showtime; repeats at 9:30.

For four seasons, this was a show about a smart and caring nurse who threw away everything to cover up her drug habit. Then this season's crafty reversal.

Tonight brings Jackie's one-year sobriety celebration, just as the rest of her life crumbles. With her older daughter into drugs, she's giving up custody; she also may blow her chance with a decent guy.

That collides with two other superb stories. One involves the doctor who is sharply sexy and blazingly incompetent. The other - with an elderly, gay patient and Thor - provides a stunning finish.

Other choices

? Basketball, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. It's the fifth game of the best-of-seven championship series, with Miami at San Antonio. That's preceded by Jimmy Kimmel at 7 and a game preview at 7:31.

? "The Simpsons," 8 p.m., Fox. After all these years, this rerun finds Marge wanting another baby.

? Daytime Emmy awards, 8 to 10 p.m., HLN. A big deal in its Oprah/Lucci days, this now ie shuffled off to one of CNN's channels..HLN's Robin Meade and A.J. Hammer host with ABC's Sam Champion.

? "The Good Wife," 9 p.m., CBS. In the rerun of a clever episode, Will and Diane simply want to prepare via a mock trial. Alicia and Carrie battle them so cleverly that their case seems shaky.

? "The Killing," 9 p.m., AMC. In a darkly well-crafted episode, the search intensifies for the man whose voice appears on sex tapes involving the girls who became murder victims.

? "The Mentalist," 10 p.m., CBS. Here's a rerun of the show's 100th episode, which flashed back to its early days. It showed us how Patrick Jane met the California Bureau of Investigation.

? "The Borgias," 10 p.m., Showtime. Richly crafted and seething with emotion, this has offered three strong seasons. There won't be a fourth, though, and that decision came after this season was finished. Producers promise tonight will feel a little like a finale, as the pope lusts for power.

? "Veep," 10 p.m., HBO. There are some hilarious moments - and some poignant ones - when a medication mistake makes the vice-president turn loopy.

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TV Best Bets for Sunday

'True Blood' season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO. Last season ended with Bill ? the vampire who was in his 170s and expected to live forever ? dying.